Eternal Darkness Trademark Hints at Digital Release

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, originally released in 2002, was one of the Gamecube's standout titles. As memorable for its panic-inducing "sanity effects" as its creepy gameplay, fans have been clamoring for a follow-up for over a decade. A Kickstarter for a "spiritual successor" was recently launched (and relaunched), but there may soon be a new way to play the original. Nintendo has amended its Eternal Darkness trademark, adding "downloadable electronic game programs" and "downloadable electronic game software" to the "goods and services" section.

Nintendo has been renewing the trademark to keep it from expiring, but this appears to be the first time any mention of downloadable services has appeared in the listing. Of course, Nintendo could just be covering its bases in case it wants to offer downloadable Gamecube games on the Wii U or any other platform going forward, or perhaps this trademark addendum means something else entirely.

Unlike Nintendo 64, SNES, and NES titles, Gamecube games aren't currently available digitally on the Wii U's Virtual Console. Perhaps this is a sign that we'll eventually see a whole new console's worth of titles available to download in the foreseeable future; Nintendo hasn't commented on this, or the Eternal Darkness series. In the meantime, if you're feeling nostalgic, the Shadow of the Eternals Kickstarter has 25 days to go, with just over $170,000 of its $750,000 goal raised.